In today's post, I brought an old project, but one that I had never shown here before. This project is very special to me because it was one of my first property restorations that I did entirely on my own, without anyone's help. I had already renovated two cabinets before this table and with these previous renovations, I had gained some experience and knew a little more about what to do, but even so, it was the first time I decided to take on a renovation by myself.
This little table has a lot of history and I used it for many years while working in a store. It was part of the store's office furniture and before that, it belonged to a family and had already played its role in their home. When I worked at the store, it had a small wooden railing on top, well-turned and highly ornamented, which made it look even older. When it came to my house, that railing was no longer in such good condition, so I decided to remove it and use the table in my kitchen because I had recently moved, I still didn't have a kitchen table, I didn't have a suitable piece of furniture for that space.
So this table, which is actually a writing desk, stayed there for a while, serving as a counter and providing functional support for kitchen tasks.
That's because the previous table I had in that space was also too big. It came with me from my previous home, where I had a much larger space, but in the house where I live now, it no longer fit. The table was so large that there was hardly any room to move around in the kitchen. So, I donated that old table and temporarily kept this writing desk, adapted as a table, in the center of the kitchen.
But the day came when I needed to style this table so it would make more sense. I got a new kitchen table, round, and this one was actually meant for the space. It was a real kitchen table, round, with three seats, and it fit perfectly in the kitchen,for my needs, and so the writing desk ended up being left aside. So I decided to restore it so it could go back to being a writing desk or a side table, but in another room.
For this restoration, the first step was to make a wood dust and glue mixture to fill the holes where the old railing used to be attached to the tabletop. After doing that and letting it dry for a few days, I applied a layer of plastic filler or whatever filler I had available and then started the painting stage.
Since my idea was to apply paint only to the tabletop, which was the most damaged part, I decided to create a unique design, entirely my own, so that it would be one of a kind in my décor and, in fact, in the whole world. The lower part, the legs, and the drawer section were in good condition and made of beautiful wood, so I didn’t want to paint them and chose to keep them as they were.
I really love this combination of a colorful section with the original wood, and I’ve done this with other pieces of furniture before, so I feel like it perfectly matches the interior design of my home.
Well, going back to the design, I decided to create a rectangle slightly smaller than the tabletop to make it look like it had a white border and also to highlight the central design I would add later. I used masking tape to mark the areas where I would paint, and after making this rectangle, I started drawing along the edges. As I did this organically, I was already thinking about what I would create in the center of the table.
So I used a cardboard stencil I had at home, in an oval shape, to create a kind of medallion in the middle of the table. Inside this medallion, I drew hearts and also used a floral stencil since, at that time, my drawing skills were quite limited. Just a reminder, this restoration was done back in 2020.
And that was it, I kept drawing as I felt inspired, and in the end, I think it turned out pretty interesting.
I think it’s worth mentioning that for painting the tabletop, I used wood paint that I already had at home. And for the floral and heart designs, I used acrylic and PVA paint, the kind made specifically for crafts.
I am absolutely in love with this restoration, and now, five years later, I look at it with even more affection because I can see my limitations at the time and also embrace the imperfections of this project.
I love how it blends with the other elements in my home, and I think everything turned out very harmonious and true to my style.
I hope you liked it. See you in the next project!
